Dispenser for paper products



Jan. 1, 1963 M. J. TAYLoR 3,071,290

DISPENSER FOR PAPER PRODUCTS Filed June 29, 1960 WMI INVENTQR MILFoRD J. TAYLOR fw@ i ATTORNEY 3,071,290 DISPENSER FR PAPER PRGDUCTS Miiford J. Taylor, Warwick, Mass., assignor to Erving Paper Mills, Erving, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed June 29, 1960, Ser. No. 39,478 4 Ciaims. (Cl. 22159) nite States arent O' IOther objects of the invention include the provision of a paper product dispenser which almost always functions perfectly without failure which may be due to binding of the pusher member normally found in dispensers of the type described; the provision of a dispenser which is quickly and easily opened for refilling; the provision of a dispenser of the class described which is relatively simple in construction but positive and foolproof in operation and the parts of which are relatively inexpensively manufactured and quickly and easily assembled into an operative unit.

A further object of the invention includes the provision of a paper product dispenser which comprises three essential main portions which are: an outside casing closed at all sides except at one end where there is an opening receiving the second member, which is a drawer having an apertured dispensing face plate for the paper products mounted thereon, and a unit. guideway insert which is placed in the bottom of the casing before the drawer is inserted, said insert being quickly and easily removable and including a paper product pushing means for operation within the drawer and spring means for normally maintaining pressure on the paper products to continuously move the same toward the face plate as the prod# ucts are abstracted therefrom one by one.

The invention further relates to arrangements and cornbinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings,

in which- FIG. 1 is a View in side elevation illustrating the invention, parts being broken away and in section;

FIG. 2 is a view in front elevation of the dispenser shown in FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the unit guide insert looking in the direction of arrow 3 in FIG. l;

FIG. 4 is a section on line 4 4 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view in elevation showing the pusher plate;

FIG. 6 is a view in elevation illustrating the unit guideway insert;

FIG. 7 is a section on line 7-7 of FIG. 3 but also showing a part of the exterior casing to illustrate the cooperation thereof with the unit insert; and

FIG. 8 is a rear view Vof the" drawer itself showing the face plate secured thereto.

In FIG. 1 there is shown an exterior generally rectangular housing or casing which is generally indicated at 10. This casing may be conveniently made of sheet metal or other suitable material as is most of the device, and has a closed rear end wall 12, a closed top member 14, closed bottom member 16, and closed side walls 18 and 20. The front is open to accommodate a paper product dispensing face plate generally indicated at 22 and having the opening shown at 23, FIG. 2, for the extraction ofthe paper products. This face plate is generally the same as that shown in my copending application Serial No. 835,107 led August 20, 1959. This face plate is however attached to a drawer member generally indicated at 24 at the forward end thereof, this drawer member having a rear wall at 26, two side walls 28 and 30, and a bottom member which has a central longitudinal slot 31 for a purpose to be described.

The face plate is secured at the open forward end of this drawer in any way desired and extends below the same as at 32 forming a stop for the face plate against the forward portion of the rectangular casing. A button at 34 is provided to operate a latch 36 which is secured by a pair of rivets 38 to the top of the casing and this latch extends into an opening 40 (see FIG. 8), to hold the drawer in closed position within the casing referred to above. The face plate has top and bottom transverse lips 39 and 41 against which the paper napkins rest and are held back thereby to assure one-by-one extraction, the lips' retaining the stack as the leading napkin is abstracted therefrom.

The drawer is slidable outwardly with respect to the casing in order to provide for filling napkins into the top open portion of the drawer but it is normally closed and locked and dispenses the napkins out through the front opening in the face plate as shown in FIG. 2.

A unitary removable drawer guide insert is provided as best shown ink FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, this insert resting on the bottom member of the rectangular casing and being secured thereto at the forward end thereof by a pair of screws or the like 42. When these screws are removed, theentire insert may be removed and it is easily` assembled. This insert comprises a member generally indicated at 44 which is substantially as long as the drawer and the casing and fits under a pair of outstanding brackets 46 mounted yon the rear wall 12 of the casing serving to overlie the insert 44 at the rear end thereof in order to hold the same down in conjunction with the screws 42. vThe insert is provided with a circumferential depending flange which extends all about the same, see particularly FIGS. 4 and 7 where .this flange is indicated at 48. This forms a box-like member which is open at the bottom.V In each corner of this box-like member there is mounted a deeply grooved pulley, these being indicated at 50 and mounted to.ho1d an elongated spring 52 by means of the grooves in the pulleys in such a way Vthat the springs cannot possibly fallout or become detached from the mounting in which they are placed because of the closeness of the pulleys to the flange 48.

v At the top surface ofthe insert 44 there Aare provided a pair of longitudinally spaced raised parallel inverted .ll-shaped guide members54, 54 upon which the draweritself rides, the bottom of the drawer being preferably pro. vided with corresponding or complementary I, V-shaped elongated guide members 56, see FIG. 8, Yso that the drawer is guided thereon .with the least metal contact possible. and the leastfriction which may be possible in this relation. Y Y

The ends of the spring 52 are secured to a pair of tabs 60, 60 which are bent over slightly in order to positively prevent any disengagement and these tabs are formed at the ends of a pair of metaliplates which are arranged vertically and are indicated at 62, 62 rising through a central slot 64 in the top surface of the insert 44. The plates 62 rising through the slot 64 extend upwardly and forwardly and are then bent to form a pair of lateral wing members 66, 66, see particularly FIGS. 6 and 7. This forms a pusher member for the paper products in the drawer.

Also the plates at 62 are provided with lateral flat projections 68, 68 which are encompassed at top and bottom by a pair of loose plastic plates 70 and 72. These E two plastic plates are provided with central elongated apertures therein as is indicated at 74, see particularly FlG. 3, and these slots are larger than the plates 62 so that the entire pusher member thus far described is very loosely mounted and can swing laterally as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 3.

The plastic plates are slidably mounted in U-shaped guideways 76, 78, which face each other at opposite sides of the slot 64 and opening thereinto to provide an enclosed guideway for the plates 70, 72 and the transverse pusher portions 68, 68, these plates and the pusher being generally free of each other but held in assembled relation by the construction recited particularly as to the guideways 78.

The lateral wing members 66, 66 provide a support for a pusher plate 80 best shown in FIG. 5. This pusher plate is provided with bent down tabs 82, 82 and 84, 84 which serve to grip the members 66, 66, see FIG. 7. The pusher plate 80 is removable vertically from the members 66 and is easily applied thereto. This pusher plate 80 therefore is seen to take the motion of the pusher both laterally, forwardly and reversely in the slot 64, under intluence of the spring 52 which is shown substantially at its rearwardmost position in FIG. 4.

The drawer is provided with an enlarged opening at 86 in the rear wall 26 thereof. With the insert in place in the housing, the drawer is inserted with the pusher plate 80 removed from the pusher, which then enters through the rear opening 86 to a position within the drawer as shown in dotted lines in FIG. l. The spring of course moves the pusher to the forwardmost position when the drawer is empty and the pusher plate 80 may then be applied to the members 66, 66 with the drawer open. The metal plates 62 of the pusher extend up through slot 31 in the bottom of the drawer.

By then inserting napkins or other paper products into the drawer in front of the pusher plate, the same is gradually moved towards the rear to the position of FIGS. 1 and 4 and the device is ready to operate merely by closing the drawer.

A pair of stops 88, one at either side of the slot, is provided on the bottom of the drawer to limit the rearward motion of the pusher assembly just short of the rear wall of the drawer.

Having thus described my invention and the advantages thereof, I do not wish to be limited to the details herein disclosed, otherwise than as set forth in the claims, but what I claim is:

1. A paper dispenser comprising a casing having an opening, a pusher member in said casing for maintaining pressure on paper products in the casing urging them toward the opening through which the products may be abstracted, a unit detachably mounted at the bottom of said casing and slidably mounting said pusher member, said unit including a plate having a longitudinal generally central slot therein, means mounting said pusher member below the plate, said pusher member extending up through the slot, spring means connected to the pusher member at the under side of the plate, guide means for the pusher mounting means mounted on said plate, the pusher member mounting means comprising a pair of plastic plates, each having a slot therein, said pusher extending loosely upwardly through one of said slots, and said plastic plates forming anti-friction means guided by said guide means in said unit, said pusher member being free to wabble from side-to-side thereof so as to follow the contour of the paper products, and said plastic plates providing antifriction means preventing a binding between the pusher member and the guide means.

2. A paper dispenser comprising an elongated casing open at one end, a drawer slidable through said open endinto the interior of said casing and adapted to hold paper products, a paper dispensing front plate on said drawer, means to latch the drawer in closed position in said housing, a pusher member for the paper products to push the same toward the plate, and means slidably mounting said pusher plate in said housing and below the drawer, said means comprising a pair of spaced and parallel guideways dening between the same a longitudinal slot, said pusher member extending upwardly through said slot, a pair of plastic plates mounted in said guideways, and a transverse member on said pusher member located between the two plastic plates, the pusher member being free of the plates to freely wabble between the plates, the guideways holding the plates and pusher member in assembled relation.

3. The dispenser of claim 2 in which the transverse member on the pusher plate is less in width than the width of the plastic plates, the latter bearing on the guideways and the transverse member being free of the guideways.

4. A dispenser for paper products comprising a generally rectangular elongated casing having top and bottom walls, connecting side walls, and a closed rear end, the forward end of the casing being generally open, a drawer slidably mounted in the casing through said opening, a paper product dispensing plate mounted on said drawer and closing the opening, said drawer having a bottom, sides, and rear wall and a longitudinal central slot in the bottom, a portion of the rear wall of the drawer being open, a removable guide unit mounted on the bottom wall of said casing, said unit slidably guiding the drawer in the motion thereof, said drawer having an open top for replenishment of paper products when open and partly Withdrawn from the casing, a pusher member slidably mounted on said unit, spring means urging the same toward the open end of the casing, said drawer receiving the pusher member through the opening in the rear wall thereof and through the slot in the bottom of the drawer, and anti-friction means mounting said pusher member on said unit so that the same does not bind in its motion toward and from the face plate, said anti-friction mounting means comprising a pair of at centrally slotted plastic plates, there being a transverse element on the pusher member located between the two plastic plates, the transverse element being narrower in width than the widths of the plastic plates and being otherwise unconnected thereto, so that the pusher member is free to move angularly to a limited degree with respect to said plastic plates.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,611,131 McCorkindale Dec. 14, 1926 1,895,661 Horwitt Jan. 3l, 1933 2,053,791 Horwitt Sept. 8, 1936 2,085,479 Shatter et al June 29, 1939 2,586,197 Aubertin Feb. 19, 1952 2,781,151 Campbell Feb. 12, 1957 

1. A PAPER DISPENSER COMPRISING A CASING HAVING AN OPENING, A PUSHER MEMBER IN SAID CASING FOR MAINTAINING PRESSURE ON PAPER PRODUCTS IN THE CASING URGING THEM TOWARD THE OPENING THROUGH WHICH THE PRODUCTS MAY BE ABSTRACTED, A UNIT DETACHABLY MOUNTED AT THE BOTTOM OF SAID CASING AND SLIDABLY MOUNTING SAID PUSHER MEMBER, SAID UNIT INCLUDING A PLATE HAVING A LONGITUDINAL GENERALLY CENTRAL SLOT THEREIN, MEANS MOUNTING SAID PUSHER MEMBER BELOW THE PLATE, SAID PUSHER MEMBER EXTENDING UP THROUGH THE SLOT, SPRING MEANS CONNECTED TO THE PUSHER MEMBER AT THE UNDER SIDE OF THE PLATE, GUIDE MEANS FOR THE PUSHER MOUNTING MEANS MOUNTED ON SAID PLATE, THE PUSHER MEMBER MOUNTING MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF PLASTIC PLATES, EACH HAVING A SLOT THEREIN, SAID PUSHER EXTENDING LOOSELY UPWARDLY THROUGH ONE OF SAID SLOTS, AND SAID PLASTIC PLATES FORMING ANTI-FRICTION MEANS GUIDED BY SAID GUIDE MEANS IN SAID UNIT, SAID PUSHER MEMBER BEING FREE TO WABBLE FROM SIDE-TO-SIDE THEREOF SO AS TO FOLLOW THE CONTOUR OF THE PAPER PRODUCTS, AND SAID PLASTIC PLATES PROVIDING ANTIFRICTION MEANS PREVENTING A BINDING BETWEEN THE PUSHER MEMBER AND THE GUIDE MEANS. 